U.S. man at-large, armed with hunting knife, arrested in B.C.

After several tense hours of searching for an American suspect at-large near the Paterson border Friday afternoon, Mounties got their man later that night.

Trail police confirmed Friday night that Levi Sweet, armed with a hunting knife, was arrested near Rossland without incident.

Sweet is being investigated for possession of a dangerous weapon under the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) immigration act, and being held for deportation.

“He may have accidentally crossed into Canada; however, he did not report to CBSA when he discovered this fact,” Sgt. Mike Wicentowich, Trail RCMP detachment commander, told the Trail Times Sunday.

“He was not being pursued by U.S. police though he is known to them,” Wicentowich said.

“He did not have any known outstanding warrants in the U.S.”

Sweet’s case has been referred to CBSA Inland Security.

The search for Sweet began March 24 around 2:30 p.m., when Trail RCMP officers located and confronted him, armed with a hunting knife, on a property in the 5000 block of Old Rossland-Cascade Highway.

Sweet fled after contact with police and was at-large in the sparsely populated area when the first news brief was released at 4:30 p.m.

In the media report, police described Sweet as Caucasian, 6’0” tall, approximately 30-35 years old, with brown hair, armed with a large hunting knife, and wearing a t-shirt and light coloured cargo pants.

Police asked residents near the property to lock their homes, secure vehicles, and not to approach the suspect.

The Frontier–Paterson Border Crossing connects the American town of Northport, Washington with Rossland, B.C. on the Canada–United States border. It can be reached by Washington State Route 25 on the American side and British Columbia Highway 22 on the Canadian side. This crossing is open 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

Read more: RCMP Briefs